About Me

I have spent the first half of my career
as a pastor of the church, and the second half as a teacher in the university and the church. I experience much satisfaction working in both worlds. As I engage in ongoing research to support my third activity which is writing, I am constantly finding many interesting items on the net and from friends which I edit and share on my Colleagues List. That way, you too might enjoy information from the worlds of religion and culture. As of September 2016, this profile has received almost 1,800 hits.
Thanks for your interest!
.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Colleagues List, February 2nd, 2014

Vol IX No. 23

*****GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE Wayne A. Holst, Editor My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.netColleagues List Web Site: http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com"Quicklinks" are included with many itemsat the beginning of this issue. To get a more complete picture, however, scroll down to find your special selection in the body of the blog.

Note that not all items here have links. *****

Dear Friends:This weekend we welcome our Muslimfriends Emine and Malik and their associates from the Interfaith DialogueInstitute here in Calgary to St. DavidsUnited Church. They will participate in our worship with a social time following and will be serving a Turkish delicacy - 'Noah's Pudding.'

We have been cultivating a specialrelationship with the Calgary Turkishcommunity since our visit to thatcountry last year.The IDI has beenparticularly welcoming and generousand we want to value the opportunity.http://calgary.interculturaldialog.com/

My Special Item this week is a booknotice for "In Search of Deep Faith" -a spiritual travel guide to some keypersons and places of Europe.http://tinyurl.com/kdqz28l--

"PW Talks With Thomas Moore" - A popular spiritual writer a generationago, Moore is still active and will cometo The Wisdom Centre, Calgary laterthis yea (Publishers Weekly) http://tinyurl.com/m4yfvgj"No Hell, Priests or Punishment" -some young people want to create their own religion with predictablecharacteristics (RD Online Magazine)http://tinyurl.com/k32myhb"Noah's Ark 'Original' Was Round" -more archeological finds in the mid-Eastare coming up with precedents for thebiblical myth of Noah (Christian Post)http://tinyurl.com/lx2ehtp"Bishops Must Reject Homophobia" -the British press has advice for bishopsin their country; encouraging them toinfluence fellow bishops in Africa(The Guardian, UK) http://tinyurl.com/mujpq99"Separating Evil Artists from Great Art" -Jews have had this challenge when dealingwith Nazi German composers, but the issueis really much more extensive and complex(Huffington Post Canada)http://tinyurl.com/koqf7gx

"Ukraine Church Urges Return to Peace" -the Catholic Church in the Ukraine is called to serveas go-between between factions there(America Magazine)http://tinyurl.com/k7ncz8k"Utah Politician Breaks With Mormon Church" -in his attempts to liberalize the drinking lawsof his state, he opposes his own church(The Christian Post)http://tinyurl.com/m7jo4xw

"Is French Quebec Biased Against Minorities?" -The proposed secular values legislation in QCis against minorities - that's the irony accordingto U of C grad student Jonathan Napier(Sightings) http://tinyurl.com/k74duld"St.Jacobs Sculptor Has Work Blessed By Pope" -my home town in Southern Ontario can nowboast of a famous artist (Christian Week Online)http://tinyurl.com/k74duld

"The Challenges of Ecumenism in Israel, Palestine" - here is an enlightening article on the extent ofChristian diversity among the people of theHoly Land (Sightings)http://tinyurl.com/mu4ol7x

*****Closing Thought - this week is fromSøren Kierkegaard the Danish philosopherwho writes of acting first, then reflecting.I include information on the last remainingclass of mine to be started this winter -

Church and University Classes Just Beginning----My best to you. I hope you enjoy this issueof Colleagues List!

Follow pastor Jim Belcher and his family as they take a pilgrimage
through Europe, seeking substance for their faith in Christianity's historic, civilizational home. What they find, in places like Lewis's
Oxford and Bonhoeffer's Germany, are glimpses of another kind of faith and - one with power to cut through centuries and pierce our hearts
today.

--

Grappling with his own questions, Jim Belcher set out on a quest to
see how the Christian faith faces the challenges of the modern world and answers the cries of the human soul. Seeking renewal after a draining
season of life, he and his family spent a year traveling through Europe, exploring the faith that has shaped civilizations throughout the
centuries. They rediscovered key figures, places and events in the
history of Christianity, from C. S. Lewis's life at Oxford to Dietrich
Bonhoeffer's death in a concentration camp. Through the experiences of
William Wilberforce, Vincent Van Gogh, Corrie ten Boom and others,
Belcher saw glimpses of insight, beauty and courage that transcended human limitations. He found himself surprised by joy and compelled by
faith.

Whether you are giving up on Christianity or encountering it for the
first time, you are invited to come along on this pilgrimage. Even if
you are unsure of the destination, the journey itself may take you far
deeper than you could ever imagine.

After almost 20 years pastoring two congregations, raising four
children and finishing my first book, I was tired and worn down—out of
gas. I needed to make a change, to find a way to regain my passion for
my calling.

While I was exhausted, my wife and I were also worried about
our four children and whether they were developing a strong enough
faith to last a lifetime. Were they being more influenced by the culture
around them—the media, materialism and friends—than by the story of
Christianity and its reality in their lives?

Then we hit on an idea. What if we traveled on a pilgrimage for a
year to England and Europe, and studied and experienced the biographies and places of some of the great heroes of the faith—people like C.S
Lewis, Sheldon Vanauken, William Wilberforce, Corrie ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maria Von Trapp. Maybe this could get my passion back
for my calling and at the same time help my children develop a deeper faith—a faith that shaped their imaginations and identities and futures.
So we left the comforts of Orange County, CA and moved to Oxford,
England. We didn’t have any definite plans but upon arriving we discovered that a pilgrimage has three components: to rediscover our
roots, to understand that life is a journey and to know our ultimate
destination. These three ideas became our inspiration, shaping the
themes we pursued, revealing the heroes we studied, and steering us
across time and place. And as the pilgrimage unfolded, day by day, month
by month, what we learned and experienced over the year would startle
us and surprise us and change us forever. In Search of Deep Faith is the
record of this pilgrimage, an unfolding drama marked by suspense and
intrigue.

I hope you will take the journey with us and go deeper into the faith than you could ever imagine.

--

My Thoughts:It is heartening to read a book authored bya former evangelical Protestant megachurch pastor turned seminary professor Jim Belcher that respects and demonstrates profound consideration for some of the classic themes of the Christian tradition.I am particularly taken by the author's interestin the meaning of 'pilgrimage'.Early in the book Belcher writes: "This book isabout the pilgrimage my family took to Englandand Europe from August 2010 to June 2011.When we set out for Oxford, (my wife) Michelleand I knew some of the lessons we wanted toteach our children (who accompanied us), andwe had in mind a number of historical characterswe wanted to study and experience. But we hadonly the vaguest idea of which ones we wouldchoose and what order we would follow."--Let me assure you, this is not the way I wouldgo about planning a trip to some of the grand'Christian' centers and personalities of Englandand Europe. I would be a more disciplinedplanner! Each to his own, I guess.That said, I am impressed by the author'schoice of the term - pilgrimage - for what theywere about to undertake. He quotes John Inge'sbook "A Christian Theology of Place"(Ashgate2003) to suggest (and here I repeat what he has written above) that "a pilgrimage has three components: to rediscover our roots, to understand that life is a journey and to know our ultimate destination." "These three ideas became our inspiration, shaping the themes we pursued, revealing the heroes we studied, and steering us across time and place." - from the Prologue.Pilgrimage is a term and a practice that iscommon to many of the great faith traditionsof our world. Christians have no corner on it.But the Christian tradition is remarkably richin pilgrimage experience. A study of thisterm from two millennia of Christian historymight help us expand and enhance some ofthe meanings that Belcher has chosen for thisbook. Still, he is a good writer, and adds alot of meat to the bones of a basic definition.My wife and I have traveled to many of thelocations and also engaged a number of thegreat spiritual personalities of this book.It was nevertheless interesting to readanother perspective - and some good prose!This suggests to me that important places of religious significance and accompanyingpersonalities of great faith will appeal toa broad spectrum of pilgrims - whatevertheir background, experience in life, andsources of information and inspiration.We have found this to be true in our early exposure to Islamic places and personalities. I assume this is true for other faith traditions as well.I plan to lead a study of this book forfaculty, staff and students at my universitythis coming Lent and am grateful for sucha helpful resource.You might be encouraged to do somethingsimilar to the Belchers (even unplanned as they did!)_____

"Through our relationship with God, our fellow human beings, and the rest of
creation, we reflect the image of God within us. ... Male and female reflect the
image of God equally and express this image through their own historical,
social, and cultural particularity."- Michelle
A. Gonzalez--"Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it
for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be
alone."-
Wendell Berry--"There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any
darkness may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives
of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary
ways."-
Mother Teresa--"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."- Martin Luther King, Jr.--Wage peace. Never has the word seemed so fresh and precious: Have a cup of tea
and rejoice. Act as if armistice has already arrived. Celebrate today."- Judyth
Hill

*****CLOSING THOUGHT - Søren Kierkegaard: Christ says: Do according to what I say –then you shall
know. Consequently, decisive action first of all. By acting, your life will come into collision with existence, and then you will know the reality of grace.
Nowadays we have turned the whole thing around. Christianity has become a
worldview. Thus, before I get involved I must firstjustify it. Good night to
Christianity!Source: Provocations(end)